Open House
by oneiromancer242
Summary: Riding on the success of his conference, Xavier decides to hold an open evening for prospective students. Initially not knowing what he should help with, Scott Summers finds himself in an unlikely organisational partnership. Will it be chaos - or can Scott manage to get Peter to hold himself together long enough to show off the athletics department?
1. Chapter 1

1

On reflection, Hank wished that he hadn't announced at the beginning of the class that he needed the students to stay behind at the end of it. His pupils may have actually paid attention if he'd waited, instead of spending the entire time he had been trying to teach them how to use punnet squares passing notes between them, exchanging meaningful looks, and probably trying to formulate an _ad-hoc_ eyebrow-language. At last, the session had crawled to its conclusion, Hank dutifully writing the homework he knew he'd have to re-explain to every one of the distracted class come tomorrow on the board, and at last getting on to the point they had been waiting for.

"I won't keep you too long, I'm sure you're all very keen to get down to lunch – but I've got something very exciting to tell you all and hopefully to get some help from you with"

The class shuffled around, someone dropped their pencil, nobody spoke. Hank's idea of 'exciting' was rarely theirs, and a sense of semi-bored dread had settled over them.

"Are we going on a field trip?" Jubilee asked hopefully, "Somewhere cool?"

"No, it's not –"

"We could explore the bottom of Kurt's wash-basket," Peter suggested, grinned at his desk-mate wickedly, "pretty sure there's a few new forms of life in there"

"Why don't we experiment on you instead?" Kurt shot back, whipped his tail up to poke Peter in the back, "I could think of a few things that would be most amusing for everyone"

"Class?" Hank pleaded, "Quiet, please"

Obligingly the few giggles provoked by the squabbling class clowns died back, and he cleared his throat to go on

"Now here at the Academy, we've never held an open event for prospective students before, but since the Conference last year went so well, we've decided for the first time to invite parents AND their children to come look around, and each department is going to have a stall, isn't that exciting?"

the class stared back at him as if he were a wall-full of drying paint. Undeterred, he continued,

"So what we will need is a few people to help me out putting together a display that's going to show off the science department at its best. Who wants to help?"

A pause stretched out, during which Hank began to feel increasingly uncomfortable, until at last it was broken (as usual) by Peter, calling from the back of the class

"Dr McCoy, have you got a pin I could borrow?"

"A… pin?"

"Yeah. I wanna see if we can really hear it drop over all the enthusiasm"

Another little ripple of laughter. Hank decided he would just let the students think about it and dismissed them for lunch, giving up on the idea of getting hungry children to get genuinely interested in making a papier-mache volcano or helping him make a robotic arm. At least, amid the distracting laughter provoked by Peter's sarcastic quip, Jean and Jubilation had quietly put their hands up to volunteer – that was two he could count on, and some of the younger kids could certainly be tempted in with the promise of explosions. It would have to do for now.

Down in the lunch hall, it had transpired that every class had been given the same request. Xavier had asked his literature and drama class to put on a little performance, Ororo had suggested a musical number showcasing some of the Very Small Mutants' dancing and singing talents. Every teacher in the school seemed way too enthusiastic about the whole idea. It was just depressing for Scott, for once without his girlfriend glued to his side and eating his hamburger in unhappy little nibbles when he'd been joined by a strong breeze, shortly followed by Peter.

"If you're looking for leftovers, Maximoff, you're out of luck" he muttered, moved his fries to the other side of his tray. Peter gave him a hurt look.

"Came to see what was up with you, actually" he said, "Though if you're sharing –"

"I'm not" Scott snapped, "What do you want? Eating with you at the table is like having a dog begging scraps"

"Shades, I'm wounded," the speedster put a hand to his chest, an exaggerated look of mournful hurt pride on his face, "You cut me up me, you really do. Now what's the matter? You can't spend one lunch hour without Jeanie?"

"Just this whole open house thing" he admitted, tried and failed to slap Peter's hand away from stealing a couple of his fries, "I'm not really great at any of my subjects, I don't know how I'm supposed to contribute"

"I was thinking the same. Sounds like a thing for the geeks to me"

"You'll have to choose something. All the older students will – Academy solidarity"

"Are you gonna eat that cupcake?"

"Yes!"

"Sorry, just *asking!*… anyway I was thinking, why don't we do a sports stand? I mean, you and I probably spend more time in the gym than anyone else, and we've got the pool and the basketball court and the tennis courts. We could show potential students it's not all books and stuff"

"That's… actually not a bad idea" Scott conceded, "You think they'd let us?"

"Let *me*? Absolutely not. You, however… well, you're the tactical lead. Totally trustworthy and upstanding and all that. You'd get it passed easy" he grinned, gave Scott a wink, "So how 'bout it Captain Shades? You and me, the faces of the Academy athletic programme?"

Scott thought, nibbled his burger. Looked at the boy beside him giving him an appealing little smile that most found hard to say no to, and nodded

"On the one condition that you really do help me organise it, not leave me to do it all"

"Thanks Scotty," Peter beamed, "You won't regret it, I promise!"

With that he was gone. In a couple more seconds, Scott realised that so was his cupcake.

What on earth had he just agreed to….


	2. Chapter 2

2

Getting permission had been easier than Scott expected. Even when he'd warned the Professor that Peter was going to be helping him, Xavier had been only too happy to agree and delighted that somebody was going to be there to showcase what excellent sports facilities the Academy had – not even counting the subterranean training room, which of course wasn't on the brochure. Scott even found himself arguing against his own proposal, just to make sure this was a fully informed decision.

"Are you really sure though?" he'd asked, shifted in his comfy armchair, "I mean, I did mention that Maximoff is helping me, right?"

"You did, several times. I think it's wonderful that the two of you are getting together on this" Xavier beamed at him, "After all, you've had your differences, it will bring you closer"

"And you remember that he's a total loose cannon and a gigantic pain in the ass?"

"Scott, I'm well aware of Peter's limitations. As are we all"

"It's not his limitations I'm worried about, Professor – in fact, this was all his idea. You don't see this being some hugely elaborate set-up for a prank, do you?"

Xavier laughed, shook his head, and gave Scott one of the most devious smiles he had ever seen his esteemed mentor wear.

"He knows what will happen if he causes too much of a problem," he smiled, "His father will find out, and he'll be grounded and forced to eat his vegetables for as long as Erik sees fit"

That would certainly be enough chastisement to make even the notoriously mischievous speedster think twice about too big a prank, Scott thought. Having a father as terrifying as Erik certainly came in handy at times – even if he knew full well that the rest of the time, Maximoff could wrap Magneto around his little finger with a quick pout and a puppy-eyed look.

"Grounded?" he eventually asked, slightly disbelieving, "He's almost thirty!"

"And as soon as he acts it, Erik will stop handing him children's punishments," Xavier explained, "Come now, Scott – everything will be fine! Anything you need just ask. This is a terrific idea, don't forget we're here to help you make it a success"

With that he had gently ushered Scott out of his study, leaving the boy to sigh to himself, and make his way over to the gym to meet his new partner and thrash out a few ideas. The more he thought about it, the more this seemed like a terrible idea and a lot of hard work. Scott was, in truth, a terrific leader for the group on field missions and an excellent training partner, forever pushing people to smash through their limits and providing back-slapping encouragement to the less confident. Ironic, really, given that he himself was one of the shyest members of the team, too easily upset and covering it with cool-headed diligence to duty. Be all that as it may, however, the idea of showing hordes of children and their watchful parents around the sports facilities filled him with dread – and especially if he had to contend with keeping a leash on one very fast, very strong, very unpredictable child at the same time. It couldn't have been a worse match-up, really. Scott calm and decisive, hiding everything he thought behind his ruby quartz lenses, where Peter was rash and impulsive, and wore his heart on his sleeve to the extent of sometimes really not knowing when to shut up. The kid had no filter, in fact was such a handful that even Scott, who was at least a decade younger, thought of Peter as the younger one.

Entering the gym he'd found Peter at a weights bench with whatever was playing on his headphones turned up too loud for him to hear his own awful, out-of-tune singing. He hadn't seen Scott enter, but as he'd approached and hovered nearby he neatly shifted his hands to hold the barbell in one and remove one earbud with the other.

"S'up dude," he grinned, "Do we have a green light?"

"We do" Scott told him, perched on the nearby rowing machine, "and quit showing off"

"Huh?" Peter frowned, lifted the barbell back onto the rack and sat up, confused.

"That bar weighs more than you do, and you're not even sweating. None of that when we have the kids here, okay?"

"Next time you're stuck under something heavy, I'll remind you that I'm not supposed to show off and leave you there. Deal?" he grinned, reached for his bottle of water, "guess we'd better start coming up with a plan then. To be honest I thought Baldy would say no, I haven't actually thought of anything yet"

"Great.." Scott muttered, knowing he'd have to be the organised one. Just as he'd thought, "Get some clothes on, we can go find an empty classroom and hash out some plans"

"I have clothes on!" Peter protested, "I'm wearing pants, what's the problem?"

"Maximoff, the last thing I need is to have to look at your torso whilst I try and concentrate on planning a kids event. Put a damn shirt on"

"Jealous much?" Peter chided, but fetched the shirt he'd left laying beside the bench and slipped it on, "I was cold anyway. Planning room via kitchen. Let's get this show on the road!"

Having managed to find a classroom not currently in use, Scott had only turned his back for a moment to grab his drink, before he'd turned back to see Peter looking gleefully amused, putting the finishing touches to a crude depiction of a male organ on the blackboard. He gave him as hard a stare as he could manage, folding his arms and sneering

"Very mature. What are you, fifteen?"

"Oh – sorry" there was a blur of movement and when Peter stepped away, he had perfectly replicated one of the diagrams in their anatomy textbook, specifically a page covering the reproductive system, "Is that better?"

Scott covered his face with his hands. Two minutes, and he was already feeling like he could strangle Maximoff with his bare hands.

"If you can do that, why the hell aren't you doing the science event?!" he asked. Peter shrugged.

"'Cos I'm not a nerd?" he asked rhetorically, "Unlike someone's girlfriend…."

"Right!" Scott stood, marched over to the board, got right in the older boy's face and wagged a finger threateningly, "One, you don't talk about Jean like that. She's a very intelligent girl, NOT a nerd. Two, wipe that…. *diagram* off the board, and three, start thinking of something useful before I decide this whole thing is a bad idea and quit. Are we clear?"

"Totally, dude" Peter drawled. Scott whipped around to see him sat at the back of the classroom, feet on a desk and hands folded behind his head. Scott sighed yet again, picked up the chalk, made a disgusted face

"What's on this?" he sniffed it, glared at Peter, "Is this _chocolate_?"

"Oohh, did I miss some?!" Peter was back in front of him in a rush, taking the chalk out of his hand and looking as if he was going to lick it. Scott stopped him just in time, threw the chocolate-stained chalk in the trash, and picked up another piece. Drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and kept his voice very even as he said.

"Plans, Maximoff. And make them good."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N : As I'm aware that I have at least one Russian-speaking reader, please don't be offended by this chapter. I assure you, if I were mocking then it would be gentle and meant in good humour. Thanks for reviews - keep 'em coming because it really helps me to hear what people think as I go along. Any suggestions also welcome. xx**

 **3.**

"Are you really sure?" Scott asked, "I mean, we could use the help – and you're a great people person"

"I am sure" Colossus replied, settled himself more comfortably on the bench and continued to eat his sandwich in surprisingly dainty little bites. Scott cursed internally. He'd been sure the muscular Russian would have been up for the task – especially since he was the star quarterback in the Academy football team.

"Aww c'mon Rustbucket!" Peter wheedled, nudged the boy beside him and rubbed his elbow in pain, "You're our favourite metal guy – we really want you on board!"

"I have said no, Quicksilver" he enunciated clearly, calmly, "I have already engagement for event, I cannot help you"

"Please?" Peter whined, and when that got no response flung his arms as far as they would go around Colossus' massive chest and pleased, "Pretty pretty pretty *pleeeeeeease* with cherries on top?"

With a casual, almost gentle movement, the Russian shrugged off Peter's hug and reached with one hand to push him backward onto the bench and hold him there squirming with a hand on his chest.

"I try to eat lunch," he told him firmly, "I do not hug during lunch"

"Dude, you're… kinda stopping me breathing a little bit"

Obligingly, Colossus removed the restraining hand, allowing Peter to sit upright – at a wise distance from his co-student this time.

"So what're you doing instead of helping out with our stand – which will obviously be the best, by the way, and you'll be kicking yourself when you see the amazing –"

"I help Storm with dancing" he said dispassionately, "We perform small piece from Nutcracker Suite with children. I will coach and help make costumes"

"You?" Scott asked, incredulously, moved a little further away when the huge head swung around to give him a slightly nettled look, "I mean, I'm sure you're great at… that… right?"

"I was star dancer of school troupe. Many excellent shows. I make all costumes, always"

Scott scowled at his partner, gnawing a knuckle in an effort to stop himself laughing out loud at the image of Colossus sewing tutus, shoulders shaking. Rose, and grabbed Peter by the lapel to drag him up and away.

"OK, well sorry to interrupt your lunch, buddy" he smiled, saw the huge boy return it and give them a little friendly wave as they backed off, "Enjoy the Nutcracker!"

As they walked away, Peter let go of the giggles he had been holding back, wiping tears of laughter away with one finger and sighing happily. Scott continued to scowl, trying to think of who else they could ask – at least they had a couple of ideas now, but most of them hinged on recruiting at least one more person to help, and so far that had been fruitless.

"Well, we know what to get him for his birthday," Peter gasped through the last of his laughter, "A new pair of ballet pumps and a mixed bag of articles"

"How do you even know what an article *is*?" Scott spat. Though he'd managed to keep him under control enough to do some planning, he was really disliking spending this much time around the speedster. He got wearing very, very easily to someone like Scott, "You spend most of your Lit classes looking for the dirty bits in DH Lawrence"

"Yeah, but I pay attention too," Peter told him, "I just don't advertise that fact. Lose all my cool points, y'know?"

"Maximoff, you don't have any cool points. You have terrible dress-sense and an attitude, that's not cool, that's just –"

Distracted by laying into the older boy, neither had noticed that they had almost walked directly into the path of Raven, who had been striding toward them purposefully as soon as she'd spotted them crossing the lawn. At her appearance, both boys stood instinctively to attention – they'd both had enough bellowings about poor posture from the woman to last a lifetime.

"Miss Darkholme!" Scott spluttered, "I'm so sorry, we weren't looking where we were going!"

"Just kiss her damn feet why doncha?" Peter hissed, "Hey Raven. S'up?"

A tiny twitch of the mouth that could have been supressed smile, gone before it was ever fully there, passed over Raven's face. In truth, she found Peter amusing and enjoyed his lively banter, it reminded her of when she and Charles had been much younger, but it didn't do to show that he amused her. She thought it might well encourage even more acting out in her training sessions than ever.

"I hear you two are in charge of the athletics showcase for the open house?" she asked, voice calm, but with an edge like a razor, "How come you haven't thought of asking me to help yet?"

"Actually we were just on our way to you, we'd be honoured to have you help! Though of course, if you're too busy then –"

"Stop crawling, Summers" she told him, silenced him with a flashing yellow-eyed look, "I was thinking a staged bout, some nice showy martial arts – maybe Iaido, that always looks good"

"Of course, whatever you –"

Peter cut in, gave his companion a scathing look and a shake of the head. Honestly, he didn't know how Scott hadn't realised yet that Raven despised being crawled to. Peter might push it, but he respected her when he needed to and never otherwise – she seemed to like it that way, as much as you could interpret through her scaly blue poker-face that is.

"How about Sih Doh Kung Fu instead?" he suggested, "No swords, but it looks cool. Should impress the kiddies without scaring the parents"

Raven favoured him with one of her rare, kind smiles, leaned her head on one side and narrowed her eyes a little

"Good point" she smiled, "I'll pick someone to partner with me – unless one of you want to do it?"

"Scotty's showing people around the gym, and I'm setting up an obstacle race, but I'm sure you can find someone to do it. Thanks Raven, 'preciate the offer" Peter beamed at her.

"Probably for the best," Raven quirked an eyebrow, "Your Crane Form is sloppy as hell"

"I'm more of a Monkey guy"

"Suits you perfectly," Scott muttered, silenced again by a piercing look from Raven.

"Well, come get me tomorrow lunch – we'll run through the plans you have so far. OK?"

"Roger that, Sargent Major" Peter threw her a salute, saw another of those concealed smirks try to appear on her face, "We've got a photographer coming in today if you want to come up to the gym around five – get some good action shots?"

She had agreed, left the two to proceed into the mansion, Scott quietly fuming at Peter getting away with as much as he did. Scott would never dare to cheek Raven like that, not even on the few days when she actually appeared to be in a slightly better mood. Oblivious to his companion's simmering, Peter beamed at him happily, flung a friendly arm across his shoulders.

"Looks like we're all set, Shades" he remarked, "Are you getting excited now? 'Cos I'm getting excited"

"Oh you weren't before?" Scott asked sarcastically, "Could have fooled me. Who's this photographer anyway? Not some artsy flake, I hope"

"Nah – he's an amateur, but he's really good. Found him at a camera club in town. And no, before you ask, I don't go to camera club – Jubilee's friends with him. Charles, sweet guy, kinda quiet. You'll like him, and he takes a nice picture"

Making their way up to the gym, Peter seemingly having forgotten the arm he'd put around Scott's shoulders and left it there, the younger boy smiled secretively to himself, looked up at Peter.

"You know what I think would make a really good action shot?" he asked, "Me punching your lights out"

Peter laughed, squeezed Scott a little closer, shook his head

"You'd have to be able to hit me first, dude" he grinned, "And we both know that won't happen. Unless I was asleep at the time"

"Lock your door tight tonight" Scott growled at him under his breath.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Charles, the photographer, had turned out to be just as sweet and quiet as Peter had said. A kind-faced young man with a bad limp and a head of curly, dark-blonde hair who somehow, despite the shoddy directions either Scott or Peter was able to give, always managed to find the perfect angle for a shot. Demonstrating first on a polaroid, then taking the shots he would develop into the final large pictures they would use. Using a backdrop composed of pictures showing the current students enjoying the sports and exercise at the Academy had been another of Peter's surprisingly bright ideas. Scott was starting to think the boy was actually ashamed of his own intelligence, maybe even held back from showing it by the fact he was a high-school failure who hadn't come back to education until he'd been 27. For all that though, Scott was well aware that he could take in and process information at an extreme rate, often coming out with things that stood in stark contrast to his village-idiot act. Maybe it was a defence mechanism, but either way Scott was glad to see that Peter could focus and throw himself into something he enjoyed – like whipping the basketball team up into a real fury trying to catch him before Charles had stepped in to take a fantastic shot of several of the students leaping for the ball.

"He's really good at that" Charles said quietly to Scott, lurking beside him in his football kit ready to take his turn, "I'm surprised. He's not so tall"

"Yeah, but he's fast and he's light," Scott muttered, "Tell the truth he's good at everything. Makes me kind of sick"

Charles smiled, a kind and forgiving little smile aimed not at Scott but the camera that he was currently fitting a new lens to.

"I like to see people good at things," he said, "I can't do sports – you know, with my leg – but I like the pictures you get out of it. People look so graceful when they're playing well"

"I s'pose" Scott conceded, "He's still a huge pain though, graceful or not"

"He's not so bad," Charles murmured, occupied with focussing for another shot, "Jubilation likes him a lot. Shame really… she's cute"

"He has a girlfriend," Scott told him, received a disbelieving little look that shone with hope, "You like Jubilee, you go for it man. She's a good kid"

Now he thought about it, Scott couldn't help noticing that Charles, with his dark eyes and cute smile, resembled Peter a little. A shy, understated version of Peter who had never had the chance to show off. Being a good shot with a camera was a lot less attention-grabbing than breaking the sound barrier on a track, after all. At last the basketball shoot had finished, and Scott had fastened his helmet on whilst the football team assembled and Charles, with help from Raven, moved his gear out to the field. He had to hand it to Charles – he knew exactly how to not dazzle anyone with the flash when he captured those perfect motion shots, an unobtrusive presence who seemed utterly unfazed by Peter yapping in his ear, grabbing his shoulder and pointing excitedly. Felt a little sorry for the boy until he'd seen Raven pull Peter away and hold what looked like a close and tense conference with him.

The football shoot done, he had jogged over, seeing Raven looking very displeased and standing with her arms folded. She was wearing her blonde, 20-something look this evening, in deference to the outsider who would probably not have cared as long as he could get a good shot of her.

"What's happening?" Scott asked, dropped his helmet and spat his mouthguard, "Something wrong?"

"We don't have a sparring partner for me" Raven snapped, "Which means one of you two is going to have to do it"

"What happened to Bobby? I thought he was doing it?"

"Maybe he _froze_ up!" Peter quipped, his grin falling a little as both pairs of eyes turned on him with a glare more icy than anything Bobby Drake could produce, "Sorry, just tryin' to lighten the mood"

"You're not funny, Peter" Raven deadpanned, "And you're also a terrible Sih Doh fighter. Your concentration is all over the place, the shoot will look a mess. It's going to have to be Scott"

"If I might just… ummm… sorry…" Charles stammered, paled as Raven gave him an unintentional death-stare, "Scott would look better with you, Miss Darkholme. He's darker – you'll make a good composition"

"Seriously?!" Scott's eyebrows shot up, "I'm going to have to climb into the ring with her because my hair colour will look better? No offence, but you don't know how she fights"

"What's the matter, Summers?" Raven asked, a smile teasing around her lips, "Worried I'll kick your ass?"

"I know you will," he rejoined, looked between them and shook his head in defeat, "Fine – but go easy on me, OK? This is just supposed to be a stage-up"

"It'll be fine, Shades," Peter said soothingly, rubbed Scott's shoulders until he had smacked his hands away in annoyance, "Just imagine you're Bobby and….. _chill_ "

"One more ice pun, Maximoff" he warned, climbed over the ropes into the ring, "Just one, and I swear you're dead"

For a few minutes, they had simply circled one another, each demonstrating the threatening and dramatic poses – Scott chosing Tiger, Raven a formidable Sepent – while Charles eagerly snapped off shot after shot. When they had actually begun fighting, however, the photographer had stepped back

"Whoah.." he breathed, glanced at Peter stood demolishing a Baby Ruth, "Aren't they going to hurt each other?"

"Nah" Peter muttered, licked his sticky fingers and began foraging in his pockets for more candy, "They're pulling their hits – don't worry dude, just keep snapping"

Charles gave him one last worried look, before returning to his camera and reeling off another series of shots. Raven had Scott thoroughly at her mercy, switching to Tiger herself and matching his every strike with vicious precision, seeming to allow Scott to gain the upper hand for the sake of the camera before she had blasted him with a melee of strikes that sent him backing away into the corner of the ring. Charles kept snapping, Peter chewing now on a bar of sticky peanut brittle he had forgotten about in his inside pocket, enjoying the bout however staged, before he had realised with momentary horror that one of the loops that held Scott's glasses in place had come adrift.

In a moment there was a blinding red flare, which sent Raven immediately curled into a defensive position out of the way, Scott surprised to find himself on his back with Peter straddling his hips, both hands held firmly to the side of Scott's head.

"What the –"

"Your shades came loose," Peter explained quietly, but didn't move, "Sorry to interrupt"

"Nice save, thanks" Scott whispered, "Now get your bony ass off me this second before I kick it all the way to next week"

Peter climbed off, offered the boy a hand to get up which he smacked away ungraciously. Climbed out of the ring with him and jumped down beside Charles, who was pale and a little slack-jawed, leaning on his tripod and gazing at them with uncomprehending cow eyes.

"How did you…. and did he… and –"

"You saw nothing" Peter told him soothingly, gave him a meaningful look, " _Noooooothiiiiiiing_ , OK?"

"But… Scott's eyes…."

"He's got conjunctivitis" Peter grinned, "Really infectious, like, super-conjunctivitis. That's why he's wearing those dumb shades. You just saw the red round his eyes"

"I…. Just saw the red round his eyes…" Charles repeated, nodded, took a deep breath, "Yeah, that must have been it. Sorry man, I just thought – "

"It's fine! You get some good shots?"

"Ummm… yeah, I-"

"Good! Thanks Charles, you're the greatest. C'mon let's get down to the track and get some amazing shots of me on the hurdles. Did I ever tell you that I once broke eight world records?..."

Scott and Raven exchanged a look, watched Peter lead the bemused photographer away, and as if on a signal burst out laughing as soon as he was gone.

"It's a good thing you have him around," Raven smiled, climbed out of the ring beside Scott, "He's a master in the art of bull"

"Sure is" Scott conceded with a grin, "Maybe he should teach that?"

"Can't be taught – you're born that way" she replied, re-establishing her natural blue form now that they were away from prying eyes, "You want to go for another round?"

"Not if you paid me" Scott laughed.

 **A/N : Free one-shot of WHATEVER YOU WANT for anyone who can tell me in a review where they recognise Charles from ;-)**


	5. Chapter 5

5

Standing back to admire the display, Scott and Peter couldn't help but feel proud of how all this was coming together, sharing a little moment of satisfied silence amid the noise of the main hall, where all the volunteers and tutors were engaged in setting up the stalls ready for the events later.

"It looks awesome" Scott grinned, "He's really got an amazing eye"

"Yeah dude, two of 'em" Peter smiled back, "And he was really into it, which helps. I paid, by the way – he didn't expect it, but I thought it would be nice"

"You don't think it was kind of… bad taste, do you?" Scott asked, concerned at his sudden thought, "Asking a disabled guy to take pictures of stuff he can't do?"

"Charles isn't disabled – he has a club foot and it makes him walk funny. That's not a disability, just being born a little different. Sound familiar?" Peter arched an eyebrow at him, "Besides, he doesn't strike me as the sporty type anyway, even if he could"

Scott considered it, shrugged, had to admit that Peter was probably right and that if the chance ever came up again, he'd be more than happy to spend a little more time around the shy young man. Shaken out of his thoughts by a sudden chorus of shouting and looking over to his shoulder to the source.

Jubilee had started the model volcano whilst Hank had been distracted, the teacher not moving fast enough to prevent her. Gobbets of glowing pink and hopefully non-toxic goo sprayed everywhere.

"The regulator isn't in yet!" Hank told her, "What are you *doing*? Get this cleaned up…"

He shook his head wearily, Jubilation looking contrite right up until Hank had turned his back, then caught Jean's eye and giggled, took the roll of paper towel the girl offered her and began the clean-up. Scott smiled to himself, loving to watch Jean enjoying herself. She was so serious so much of the time, it was rare and lovely to see her apparently carefree.

When at last the stands had finished being set up, Xavier had entered and shushed them all as only he could, beaming with pride at seeing his students all working so happily, and announced.

"Thank you, everyone for all your hard work so far. It's ten o'clock, our guests will be arriving in around half an hour, so if you'd all like to go and make sure that your rooms are prepared then we can start the tours as soon as the first group is here"

"How many are there?" Bobby called over. Xavier thought a moment,

"There's probably going to be around three hundred over the course of the day, if the RSVP's are accurate. We'll do groups of twenty – if my tour guides could all come over we can have one last run of …"

Over at their stand, the rest of his speech was lost to Scott and Peter, exchanging a look and suddenly feeling the nerves. They hadn't imagined there would be such a big response, a little stunned by it. Peter rested back against the table and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and turning an unhealthy shade of white.

"What's up?" Scott asked him, "You had breakfast didn't you? Come over faint on me and I'll –"

"I'm fine," Peter insisted, "Just… that's a whole lot of people, dude. You know I'm not so great with crowds"

Scott took pity on him, reached under the table to retrieve a Krispy Kreme box and a small paper cup stowed under there by Hank for just such an eventuality. Handed both to his companion and received a questioning look as he peered into the little cup.

"It's a quarter strength version of the stuff Hank gave you to keep you off your leg," he explained, "Should calm your nerves. Get your blood sugar up and take it"

"I dunno…" Peter said dubiously, rattled the little pill around in the cup, "This stuff's a little _too_ good y'know? I'm not sure –"

"Twenty minutes, everyone!" Xavier called out, "The first four groups will be here soon, have fun!"

He tossed the pill down without another thought, started tearing through the half-dozen doughnuts, feeling a lot more settled and calm by the time he'd finished.

"There's another for later if you need it, but no more than that" Scott told him firmly, "Now get over to the field and make sure you're ready – and Maximoff? Don't embarrass me, please"

"You won't even be there!"

"If you mess up, we all know about it," Scott warned, slapped him hard around the shoulder, "Go. Don't get any kids hurt"

Somehow, the tours had gone without incident, Hank and his helpers gleefully producing impressive reactions and Pharaoh's Serpents for the visitors, in his element demonstrating their state-of-the-art teaching labs and impressing even the few parents who were scientists themselves. They had all _oooh_ 'd and _ahhhh_ 'd gratifyingly over the library, clapped for the literature students as they performed short pieces for them, and been charmed by the Very Small Mutants and their miniature variety show, even more so when the tiny ones had taken a bow beside a beaming Colossus. Thoroughly warmed up and amused by the obstacle race Peter was running out in the grounds, emerging laughing and panting from foam blocks and tunnels, even some of the more adventurous parents joining in and every one of them won over by their energetic host. Helping Raven out in the gym, Scott had grinned with genuine pleasure, setting machines to their lowest and carefully guiding some of the older visitors through them, catching Raven and Bobby beaming at the young people and helping them into some of the easier starting postures, before entertaining them with a staged bout.

By the time all of the groups had gone through, almost five hundred counting parents, after all, the students had gathered in the common room for a break whilst the visitors availed themselves of the buffet set up downstairs. Most simply flopped onto couches and beanbags, quiet for a while before Jean had said

"I'm sure I was never that much work as a child"

"Never," Scott grinned at her, "You couldn't have been. Of course *some* people are still that much work now"

"Speaking of, where is Peter?" the redhead glanced around the room, not seeing their classmate anywhere, "Are you hiding from him?"

"He's taking a nap – you know how he gets after big lunches. Hopefully he'll wake up in time to come help me with the stand"

Allowing him to scoop her in close, Jean smiled up at him in an altogether far too pleased with herself way

"I knew you two could get along" she kissed him very lightly on one cheek, "You just needed the right situation. He's not so bad really is he?"

"He's an uncontrollable overgrown child with the attention span of a housefly" Scott told her, "but I guess his heart's in the right place"

She relaxed against him, waiting for the inevitable moment when they would have to go back to the hall, and face the questions of the hundreds of parents and children after their exciting tour that morning. Already she couldn't wait for the day to be over, even if it was wonderful to see young people so happy amongst their fellow Mutants. There had even been a few couples expecting children on the tours, both Mutants themselves, and hoping to get their little ones a place at the Academy kindergarten if they inherited the X gene. It was heartening to see that despite a still-hostile outside climate, in these walls Xavier had finally realised his vision of a true safe-haven for Mutantkind.

Now if they could just get through the rest of the day without spraying anyone with fake lava, that would be wonderful.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N : HUUUUGE apologies for the delay in getting this final chapter up! Just started a new role and I'm split between three hospitals, so things may get slower around here for a few months. But I'm here, I'm ready to receive ideas, and my prompt box is as always open. Thanks so much for your reads and reviews, you mean the world to me.**

 **Shoyzz - your request is fulfilled ;-)**

6

The hall was absolutely jammed. Nobody had expected so much joy and curiosity to have taken over the huge room, so many people to attend. Scott wondered if they would ever manage to find places for everybody who had come to look, sure that the Professor would manage it somehow, like he always did. He beamed with pride and perhaps just a tiny touch of hope for his own future as he saw Jean over at the science stand, speaking with a pregnant woman with red hair like her own, identical twin boys tugging at her hands to see the volcano model closer. So rapt with the idea that one day, the two of them might be coming to find a place at the school for a child, he almost didn't notice the two men at the stand looking to get his attention, a little girl with black pigtails grinning beside them and looking up at the photo display with envy and glee vying on her face.

"Are you a teacher here?" the taller of the two asked, looking dubious, "You're a little young"

"Well, we all pitch in" Scott laughed good naturedly, "Professor Xavier likes his students to help each other, so all of us older kids take a turn tutoring the younger ones. But I'm a student myself – are you interested in the sports programme?"

"Very, we –"

"I want to be a hurdler!" the little girl burst in, "And a runner and a gymnast and everything!"

"I'm pretty sure 'hurdler' isn't a word, May-Lynne" the other told her, laid a hand on her shoulder fondly, looked up at Scott "She's very athletic. Do you coach the track or anything?"

"No… I…" Scott hesitated, "My colleague does though – he should be here…"

He glanced around, a little lost, both thankful and irritated when he had spotted Peter weaving through the crowded room, busily shoving what remained of a burger into his mouth, still licking ketchup from his fingers when he had got to them. Scott was surprised, he didn't seem at all panicked by the crowds, though he might just be hiding it well, immediately dropping to one knee and holding conference with May-Lynne and her fathers, sending them all away satisfied that she would get as much athletics as she could handle there. As Peter rose, pulled the fries he had concealed there out of his pocket and started munching, Scott gave him a filthy look that somehow managed to even get through his shades.

"You're late" he snapped, "and didn't you _literally_ just get up from sleeping off lunch?"

"No!" Peter protested, mildly annoyed, "I went for a run after, and I'm hungry. You want me either jittering all over or wiping out on you?"

"No, but –"

"Then knock off the lecture, I'm sorry I'm late. You want some fries?"

He offered the box, Scott declined, but couldn't stay annoyed for too long. In truth Peter was almost always late – for someone so fast, he had incredibly poor timekeeping. The younger boy couldn't help but wonder if his screwy perception of time had something to do with that, or if he was really just as lazy as he claimed to be.

For the next hour, there seemed to be a never-ending stream of people wanting to speak to them, to admire their display, to thank them for the demonstrations they had given. Somehow, without having arranged it, they had fallen naturally into dividing the work up between them – Scott taking the questions about the gym, football and martial arts, Peter those about the athletics and basketball. In those few moments he was unoccupied, Scott couldn't help watching Peter speaking with the children who had come wide-eyed and excited to their stall, always coming down to their eye level and seeming to form instantaneous bonds with every one. Scott knew he had a younger sibling whom he had helped raise, but even so he had a real gift with the younger ones, seeming to understand them and relate to them so easily that they immediately trusted and liked him. The parents could see it too, and Scott knew it was speaking well of the school for them to see how good the older students were with the children.

Finally, things had seemed to die down slightly, Scott taking a well-earned breather, returning to Peter declaring it to be snack time and vanishing through the crowds before Scott could protest. Still staring after him when he had become aware of a single voice rising above the chatter, sounding panicked

"Sammy?!" the woman's voice called, "Sam? Where are you kiddo?!"

He could see her now, passing close by the stall, and reached out a hand to touch her lightly on the shoulder. She jumped, pressed a hand to her chest, gave him a strained smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you" Scott told her gently, "Have you lost someone?"

"My son, Sam – he's eight – I just turned around and he was gone!"

"It's okay, try to keep calm," he knew that wouldn't happen, could see that the woman was terrified, "We'll find him, OK? Let me go get –"

Cut short from his intention to get Jean to reach for the boy's mind and call him over, he spotted a strange sight – a small boy seemingly floating above the crowd, pointing and calling out as he spotted the woman. In another few moments it had transpired that he was not floating at all, but riding astride Peter's shoulders. He handed him down to the woman who had gasped with relief and crushed her son against her

"Don't run off, how many times!" she scolded, hugged him again, stood and held out her hand to Peter, "Thank you so much"

"No problem – he needed the bathroom. Got lost on the way back" Peter frowned slightly, noticing that the woman was giving him an odd look, "Everything OK?"

"Yeah" she said with a little smile, "You're Pietro Maximoff, aren't you?"

"I… well, I go by Peter, but yeah. Have we met?"

"No. But I know you. I'm Emily," she grinned at him, shook his hand again, "Emily Grace, formerly Holland"

Peter stared at her astonished for a beat, before he had dropped her hand, help up a finger

"Wait right there – don't move" he vanished, returning seconds later with a little card in his hand, beaming at her. Emily's mouth fell open in surprise

"You still have that?" she asked, incredulous, "That was…"

"1977" Peter finished for her, "of course I still have it. You've no idea how long I waited to do this"

He flung his arms around her in a hug, squeezed tight, whispered a heartfelt _thankyou_ into her ear. When he released her, Scott thought his eyes looked a little shinier, a little damp. Turned at last to the other boy.

"This is Scott Summers," he said, "he's in my class. Scott, this woman saved my life"

"Oh come on that's a little –"

"No" he interrupted, "You did. When you wrote to me, I was… well, I was in a really bad place. You shook me out of it, and I never even got to thank you. I thought about going to Tampa, finding you, but I was a little… y'know…"

"I know," she said softly, "It gets that way sometimes"

"It does" he smiled broadly at her, finally looking down at the little boy clutching onto her pants, determined not to get lost again, "And you have a son! You like sport, Sam?"

"I like football" the boy answered, "I can kick really hard!"

"He's hella strong" Emily explained, "we'd love him to come here. I wish I'd come myself"

"Yeah me too – when I was younger, I mean. Would have made a whole lot of difference. But Sam can come, and if you like football kid, you need to talk to Scotty here. He's got a heck of a kick himself"

"Sure do…. _Pietro_ "

"Professional name, dude" Peter deadpanned, "I _was_ a semi-pro athlete you know"

Scott had followed Peter's example, got down on one knee to chat to Sam, left Emily to speak to the older boy for a while, couldn't help wondering what it was all about but decided he'd leave it for another time to ask. With another hug and a wave, they had left to explore the other stalls, leaving Peter grinning peacefully. Scott smiled himself, looked up at him.

"You know, you've been a pretty good partner on this" he told him, "annoying, and everything, but I don't think you can help that"

"Nope" Peter grinned, "Just how I'm made. But it's been cool, man. Maybe if this thing runs again, we can do the same?"

"Oh hell no" Scott told him swiftly, "You aren't *that* good"

Peter grabbed him with an arm around his shoulders, ruffled his hair until Scott had punched him in the kidneys and got free. Shared one last sidelong glance, and exchanged a smile that said they would probably be running the sports stand together for years to come.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N : So I thought I was done with this one, but followthebluebox gave me a great idea for a little epilogue. I think I like Scott and Peter being friends after all :-)**

7

In recognition of all their hard work as well as the need to relax after such a busy day, Xavier had announced that when everything was cleared up, the students should feel free to gather in the common room for take-out. The older ones had cheered loudly when Hank had appeared, warned them very harshly that what he had for them was _only_ for the over 21s, and handed them a large crate of Budweiser. That had just made the evening perfect. Scott was already a couple of beers down, sat between Kurt and Jean chatting away and laughing at some stupid joke Kurt had made, when he'd noticed his stand-partner hadn't joined them. Looked around for him, seeing him over at the arcade cabinet, hands and eyes moving rapidly, shooting down space invaders with practiced ease. Just watched for a moment, before he had excused himself from the happy gang and wandered over to lean against the cabinet.

"Is that still fun?" Scott asked, "You're so good at that, you must have played it a million times. Don't you get bored?"

Peter grinned, shook his head. Didn't take his eyes off the screen until a few moments later he had finished the level.

"Reminds me of home" he explained, indicated the game with a nod, "I've got a cabinet in my room. It's relaxing"

"You own one? Wow… bet you stole it"

"I'd be offended, but I totally did" Peter laughed, "did you want me, or…?"

He left the question hanging, for some reason making Scott a little nervous. He didn't usually just come over to chat with the speedster, and he found himself a little at a loss.

"No.. just… just chatting" a strained little smile, Peter looked dubious, "You want a beer?"

"Nah, I'm not really a beer guy. Doesn't touch me, just takes up food room" he leaned beside Scott, hands in his pockets, "Thanks though"

They simply stood, Scott fiddling with the label on his beer bottle, Peter only watching the room, until the older boy had chuckled at his companion, nudged him with an elbow.

"You don't have a clue what to say to me, do you?" he teased good-naturedly, "Not surprised. We never just talk. You must be drunker than you look"

To his surprise, Scott laughed, nudged him back.

"You're an asshole, Maximoff" he told him, took a swig, "But you're right. We don't talk. Why is that?"

"Because you call me an asshole a lot? I dunno man, maybe we just don't have a lot in common. And you've got Jeannie and everything, I guess I come pretty low down on your list of priority friendships"

"I guess you do," Scott admitted, paused a while, "Sorry about that. It's mean of me. I'll try –"

"Dude, it's okay" Peter interrupted, "To be honest, I never had _any_ friends before I came here. I'm not gonna worry about the ones who have less time for me. I'm just glad I have them at all"

Scott suddenly felt very sad, watched the older boy's face cloud over just a little. Let him stay quiet for a while before he had said.

"Why didn't you? Before, I mean – why didn't you have friends? You seem like the kind of guy who's always been popular to me"

Peter laughed, though Scott thought it sounded a little hollow, shook his head and sighed

"Oh, Scotty-Boy. You really don't know me at all sometimes! I was anything but – and it's tough being the weird kid, right? You know that as much as I do, as much as any of us I guess. We were all the weird kid. I got kinda used to being by myself after a while, but it was kind of a bummer"

Scott nodded his agreement. Though he had been through a lot of his adolescence without his powers manifesting, he was still somehow Other to the rest of the kids. Good at sports, passable in his classes, but not a hit with anybody. It had to have been even worse for Peter, who had a Mutation everybody could see in the unusual colour of his hair.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Scott asked quietly. Peter shrugged, nodded

"I guess. If I can reserve the right to tell you to buzz off if it's too personal of course"

"Back there, that woman –"

"Emily?"

"Yeah, her. You said she saved your life, but you never met her before today. How's that work?"

"Oh…" Peter said, chewed his lip a little. Darted off to grab a Coke and sipped it meditatively for a moment before he went on, "She wrote me a letter. Guess it came just at the right time. I was… I was in a bad way. Not doing so great at looking after myself, kind of, y'know, doing some stuff that wasn't such a good idea. Thinking some bad stuff. The letter sort of reassured me that things could be okay, if I… well, if I stayed around"

"When you say bad stuff…?"

"Hurting myself. Did it before when I a teenager but I stopped. Started again when I was about your age. And sort of thinking maybe I'd…. y'know…"

"Wow… dude, I'm sorry. I just –"

"It's okay" Peter said sharply. Offered him a half-smile, "I'm a lot better these days, it's just – kinda hard to talk about, you get me? I worry that people will laugh, or think I'm totally lame or something. I'm ashamed of it."

Unsure if it was the small amount of alcohol or the pain of the memories he'd stirred up that Peter could not help but show that motivated him, Scott gently put an arm around the older boy's narrow shoulders and squeezed, earning a puzzled look.

"Don't you dare freakin' pity me, Summers. I don't need pity"

"Nope," Scott agreed, didn't let go, "You need good friends. You don't still feel that way do you?"

"Hell no! Well…. Most of the time, no. I can get low still, but I cope better now. Gave up cutting and took up comfort-eating, it's a lot better for me. Hey, you won't tell anyone about this will you? I mean, I don't mind people knowing, but I'd rather tell them in my own time"

"Course," Scott told him, looked up at the sound of Jubilee and Hank entering with stacks of pizza boxes in their hands, "C'mon, food therapy time"

"Don't have to tell me twice dude," Peter grinned, "And Summers? Thanks. You're a good guy"

"Don't mention it" Scott told him with a smile, "Really – to anyone. I don't want anyone thinking I like you too much"

"You're an idiot, Summers"

"You too, Maximoff. You too"


End file.
